


a moment's rest

by green_piggy



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Character Study, Dancing, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Siblings, i love morgan and inigo as siblings SO much they're SO DANG GOOD, very slight, written for the dancing duelist zine!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-11
Updated: 2020-05-11
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:47:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24118258
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/green_piggy/pseuds/green_piggy
Summary: Inigo and Morgan share dances and smiles in a rare break from the war.
Relationships: Azur | Inigo & Marc | Morgan
Comments: 5
Kudos: 20





	a moment's rest

**Author's Note:**

> written for the dancing duelist zine organised by the [invincible zine server!](https://twitter.com/InvincibleZine) had a blast working on this!  
> please consider checking out the zine itself [here!](https://twitter.com/InvincibleZine/status/1259569182343077889?s=20) thanks so much~
> 
> morgan and inigo as siblings give me ALL the feelings. they're so good!! inigo as a protective big brother, knowing he's not _great_ at it, but still doing his best... aaaaaaaa. and morgan looking out for him too! i've got so many wips of them, i should actually publish one some day
> 
> all of that said: hope you enjoy the fic~

“How do you _walk_ in these?” Morgan wailed. “They aren’t even shoes!” She plodded herself down on a tree trunk with a huff, fingers tugging at the top of the slip-ons. “They’re so thin! It _hurts_ to walk on the ground! Footwear should have the opposite effect!”

“They’re meant for _dancing,_ not walking,” Inigo teased.

“Why can’t they do _both?”_

“Well—”

She held up a hand. _“Stop._ Don’t be a smartass. Not when my feet are killing me.” She let out a heavy sigh - and then her cheeks stretched with a wicked smirk, one that Inigo knew to _always_ be incredibly wary of.

“...What is it?” he dared ask when she didn’t say anything.

She thrusted a finger towards him. _“You_ should dance, then! If they’re so easy to walk in for you!”

“A-ah…” Inigo felt heat flood his cheeks. “R-r-right _now?”_

“Of course right now!” Morgan had a smug look on her face as she swung her legs. She was sitting so far back on the thick trunk that her feet didn’t touch the grass. _Thud, thud,_ went her heels against the oak. “I wanna see!”

“You _know_ I can’t just - do that on a whim!” He covered his face with his hands, ice cold against flaming heat. “Especially not in front of people!”

“Stop mumbling into your hands and just _do_ it!” Morgan said. “Honestly! You get so - so _shy_ around people! You’re worse than Mom!”

_“Which_ mom?”

Morgan rolled her eyes. “Which one do you _think,_ genius? Just do it!”

“Morgaaaaaan—”

She frowned, a tinge of genuine annoyance coming into her eyes. “We all know you do it. C’mon.” She bent forward, hands clasped together. “I’m your _sister._ If you can’t show me, who _can_ you show?”

She… had a point.

“Fine, fine! Stop nagging me!”

“Finally!” Morgan leaned back with a warm smile, tucking her hands underneath her thighs. For a second, she looked like the child she was meant to be.

But he was stalling.

Inigo inhaled. He closed his eyes and tried to calm the panic thumping in his chest and trembling in his limbs. He tilted his head back, listened to the wind, before sweeping his arm up and beginning to dance.

This wasn’t the one that his mother had taught. Nor was it any of the ones he’d picked up from the various cultures across Ylisse, from the boisterous steps of Regna Ferox to the serene twirls from the city of Ylisstol. This was a dance that he had never performed before, one without name nor reason. He moved with his body and allowed himself to follow his instincts. That unfamiliar feeling that only truly came to him when he was dancing, that strange thing that warmed his heart and made the pain of smiling much more manageable to bear, consumed his body and soul.

Eventually, when his lungs began to ache and his feet stung, he stopped. He brought his hands in front of him, bowing slightly.

Slowly, the rest of the world came back into focus. The lush green grass flourishing in spring’s prime, heads of dandelions and daffodils poking out amongst the blades. The chill in the air as the sun began to sink behind fat clouds. The scent of spring, of moist earth and crunched leaves, of a hundred different smells so different from the constant death and ash that had haunted them all before.

The soft smile on Morgan’s face, not at all mocking or sarcastic.

“You only smile when you dance,” she said, answering his silent question.

He was still panting, recovering his breath after such a gruelling dance. “I’m always smiling?”

But this one… it didn’t feel stretched. It didn’t feel like it’d splinter and crumble off his face at any second, and he had to twist his head away before anyone could see. Because he was just frivolous Inigo, the silly little boy without a care in the world. As long as he was smiling, everything was fine. Things couldn’t be _that_ awful.

Morgan shook her head. Her face was caught halfway between pity and a smile of her own. “A _real_ one,” she said. “One that—” She tapped the corner of her eye— “reaches up here.”

For several seconds, only the whistle of the wind through the countless leaves answered her words. Inigo tried, but he felt stripped bare, his chest thudding and hands sweaty. His fingers tangled in the ribbon dangling from his arm.

“...That obvious, huh?” he asked with a quiet little laugh, unable to gaze up. His fingers tightened so much that his bitten nails dug through the fabric and into his palm.

Morgan wagged her finger against her chin. “Naaaah,” she droned. Inigo didn’t know if that was comforting or not. “Just to your little sis.”

“Should I take that as a compliment?”

She hopped off the trunk with a wry grin. In lieu of an answer, she trotted up to him before extending her hand and giving a large bow. “Please, dear brother,” she said, glancing up with devilish eyes. “May I have this dance?”

He found himself smiling before he could even think to dredge it up. “It would be my greatest honour.”

He took her hand into his. Her pale fingers weren’t much smaller than his, but they were remarkably free of calluses and scars, nails short but even. A small blessing, at least, that he’d been able to protect her from _that_ much. That he hadn’t utterly failed her as a brother.

They tightened around his own palm. Morgan’s eyes were twinkling as Inigo led her into a dance they’d seen their mothers perform, both of them grinning and laughing the entire time. For that single moment in time, they were only children, freed of burdens and freed of pain, and it was most beautiful and wonderful.

For that single moment, they were happy.

**Author's Note:**

> "wow," you gasp, left speechless in wonder and awe. "i wonder if this cool af person has a twitter" [well wonder no more!!](https://twitter.com/greenpiggles)
> 
> if you enjoyed the fic, please consider leaving a kudos and/or comment and watering your local flowering author!! thank you so much, have a wonderful day <3


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